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Karate champion Deshitha says karate teaches him discipline

15 Oct 2022

By Kusumanjalee Thilakarathna Deshitha Chamiru Kariyawasam was recently placed second in the Kumite section of the Indian National Karate Tournament and 18th Asian Junior Karate Tournament held in Kerala, India. This 14-year-old karate champion started practising karate not so long ago and he is still practising under the blue belt. He is a grade 9 student of S. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia, and lives in Maharagama. While he considers his most prestigious award to be the second place at the Asian Tournament, he has won several other certificates and awards in art, singing, and acting.  Deshitha recently joined The Sunday Morning Little Stars to chat about his achievements and here is what he shared with us. Desitha, can you tell us more about yourself? My full name is Deshitha Chamiru Kariyawasam and I am 14 years old. Currently, I attend S. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia; I enrolled in this school after facing the grade 5 scholarship exam. Before that, I went to Maharagama Dharmashoka College. I have an elder brother and a younger sister. Apart from karate, I also play chess, football, and athletics. During my leisure time, I usually practise my karate steps. I also love to read.  I love to draw, act, and sing. Acting is one of the most favourite things on my list. I have taken part in school productions and have been well-appreciated for my talent.  Can you tell us more about your karate style – Kumite? I belong to Shinkyokushinkai Sri Lanka, World Karate Association. Karate as a sport has two different styles. One is Kata and the other one is Kumite. I practise both styles. Kata is basically a demonstration of skills; no real fighting is involved. But in Kumite, I practise real fighting. There are two divisions in Kumite: full contact and noncontact. I engage in both these types too.  What are the other karate-related achievements you’ve earned?  In 2019, I represented Sri Lanka in an international karate tournament. I wasn’t able to win a place in that tournament.  You said you have achievements in other areas too. Yes. I have won medals and certificates at drawing competitions. I’ve been recognised for acting too. I also won first place in singing at my Dhamma school. I even represented my Dhamma school at the provincial-level tournaments.  What is your Dhamma school? Sri Dharmarakshitha Dhamma Vidyalaya, Maharagama You are also an athlete. Yes. I engage in athletics, mostly because I need to maintain the fitness level required for karate. But I really enjoy the practices. What other sports do you play? I used to play cricket in school. I have stopped it temporarily to give more priority to my education. I play football and I am very passionate about being a football player. Karate helps me to develop patience and discipline.  How do you manage your time while prioritising all these activities? To be very honest, my school supports me a lot in managing my education so I don’t lose touch with what has been taught. I don’t attend tuition classes. I focus a lot on the lessons carried out in the class. That saves me a lot of time and I gladly spend that time on the sports that I take part in.  What is your ambition? I want to become a pilot.  Does this mean you want to stop all these sports that you are pursuing?  Not at all. I want to continue karate and football. I would like to continue to play chess too.  I also dream of becoming a world-class karate player and bringing glory to Sri Lanka.  You told us that you pursue acting too. That’s the thing I love the most. When I was at Maharagama Dharmashoka College, I got the opportunity to play Jujaka Bamuna in ‘Wessanthara Jathakaya’. Recently I got the chance to sing songs from the Sinhala stage play ‘Bera Handa’ for S. Thomas College. These are opportunities that I will treasure forever. I am also a member of the Sinhala singing group. So far I have not taken part in any commercial productions, but I would like to give becoming an actor a try because I enjoy getting into different roles very much.  Can you tell us who supports you? My mother and my father. They are always there to support me, accompany me, and buy me whatever equipment I need. My aiya (older brother) and nangi (younger sister) encourage me so much to take up more and more challenges. I also want to thank my trainers – Sensei Kasun, Sensei Ajith, and Sensei Manjula – for helping me out.  My first karate trainer was Sensei Shihan Muthukumarana. He was a wonderful teacher. Unfortunately, we lost him to Covid-19 last year. I miss his guidance very much.   

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